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Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Is Trump About To Go Into The Lions Den?

Big protests expected as Trump

 plans Phoenix rally

by Reuters
Tuesday, 22 August 2017 10:00 GMT
By Ayesha Rascoe
WASHINGTON, Aug 22(Reuters) - Large
 protests could greet President Donald Trump 
on Tuesday when he travels to Arizona for his
 first campaign rally since he caused an uproar
with his remarks about a white nationalist
 demonstration in Virginia.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, 
asked the Republican president to postpone 
Tuesday's event scheduled for 7 p.m. MST 
(0200 GMT on Wednesday) in light of his
 response to the street battles that broke out
 earlier this month at a protest against the 
removal of a Confederate statue in 
Charlottesville.
Trump was widely criticized for blaming both 
white nationalists and counter-protesters for 
the violence at the rally organized by neo-Nazis
 and white supremacists.
"America is hurting. And it is hurting largely
 because Trump has doused racial tensions
 with gasoline," Stanton wrote in the Washington
 Post. "With his planned visit to Phoenix on 
Tuesday, I fear the president may be looking to 
light a match."
Several anti-Trump demonstrations are planned 
for Phoenix, according to social media postings
 by local activists.
Some White House officials privately expressed
 concern on Monday about Trump's Phoenix
 rally, fearing he might revisit the Charlottesville
 issue in the heat of the moment while cheered
 on by thousands of supporters.
Trump has railed against the media coverage 
of his remarks, saying on Twitter that news 
outlets "totally misrepresent what I say about
 hate, bigotry."
It will be Trump's first trip as president to 
Arizona, which he won in the 2016 election. 
He will also visit a border protection facility 
in Yuma, Arizona, along the U.S.-Mexican 
border as he seeks congressional funding for
 the wall he wants built..
Republican Governor Doug Ducey told the
 Arizona Republic on Monday that he would
 welcome Trump on the tarmac when he 
arrived but would not attend the campaign
 rally. Instead, he said he would be focused
 on ensuring the safety of the event.
Trump has clashed with Arizona's two 
Republican U.S. senators, John McCain
 and Jeff Flake, on various issues. Both 
lawmakers are critics of the president.
Last week, Trump in a tweet called Flake
 "WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor 
in Senate. He's toxic!" and appeared to 
endorse Kelli Ward, Flake's Republican 
challenger in his 2018 re-election race.
Trump said earlier this month that he was
 considering pardoning Joe Arpaio, the
 former Arizona sheriff found guilty of 
criminal contempt for violating the terms 
of a 2011 court order in a racial profiling 
case. (Additional reporting by Steve
 Holland; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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